Now Fatah official Jamal Muhaisen has explained that the appointment is in fact a message to all those pressuring the PA, and who call for a stop of the terrorist salaries:

"The value of the decision lies in the fact that it was made at a time when pressures are being applied to [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas to stop the prisoners and Martyrs' salaries (rawatib). The selection of the most veteran prisoner in the prisons [Karim Younes] as a member of the [Fatah] Central Committee is a message to them that they should not think that one day the prisoners or Martyrs' salaries will be stopped."

[Falestinona, the website of Fatah's Information
and Culture Commission in Lebanon, May 31, 2017]

Muhaisen, who is also a member of Fatah's Central Committee, justified the salaries, calling the imprisoned terrorists "our pride and the knights of the Palestinian people," and reiterated the Palestinians' claim that international bodies have affirmed the Palestinians' right to use "all means" in the fight against Israel. A term Palestinians interpret to permit the use of violence and terror:

"This is because the decisions of the international bodies permit the Palestinian people and every people in the world to fight with all means (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence) against the occupation, and our prisoners and Martyrs are our pride and the knights of the Palestinian people, and not terrorists."

PA leaders and officials have legitimized Palestinian violence by quoting UN resolution 3236 which "recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to regain its rights by all means." The PA interprets "all means" as including violence against civilians, but has chosen to ignore the continuation of the resolution which states that the use of "all means" should be "in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations..." The UN Charter prohibits targeting civilians, even in war. Chapter 1, Article 1, opens by saying that "international disputes" should be resolved "by peaceful means."

[Q:] 'In your opinion, what is the extent of the victory that the prisoners achieved with their hunger strike? And what are the factors that led to the success of their strike?'

[Fatah Central Committee member, Fatah Commissioner of Mobilization and Organization in the West Bank, and PLO Central Council member Jamal Muhaisen:] "...The appointment of Karim Younes (i.e., terrorist, murdered 1), who has been imprisoned for the last 36 years in the Israeli prisons, as a Fatah Central Committee member by the decision of the committee and with the approval of the [Fatah] Revolutionary Committee, was an exceptional step of great significance, as the position of the [Fatah] Movement is a position of struggle. However, the value of the decision lies in the fact that it was made at a time when pressures are being applied to [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas to stop the prisoners and Martyrs' (Shahids') salaries (rawatib). The selection of the most veteran prisoner in the prisons (i.e., Karim Younes) as a member of the [Fatah] Central Committee is a message to them that they should not think that one day the prisoners or Martyrs' salaries will be stopped. This is because the decisions of the international bodies permit the Palestinian people and every people in the world to fight with all means (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence) against the occupation, and our prisoners and Martyrs are our pride and the knights of the Palestinian people, and not terrorists."

[Q:] "What is your opinion regarding the fact that [US President Donald] Trump described the Hamas movement as 'terrorist' in his statements?"

[Jamal Muhaisen:] "Despite all of its mistakes towards our people, Hamas is still a part of the fabric of the Palestinian people, and we will not agree to its being categorized as a terror movement. After all, Israel has occupied part of our land - why don't they put it on the terror list? In light of this lack of balance, we say that Israel, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda are terrorists, and the Muslim Brotherhood movement is also a movement that is contrary to the national and Arab interests and historically has been a tool of colonialism. Therefore, we request that Hamas disconnect from the Muslim Brotherhood, which historically has collaborated with colonialism, and return to the Palestinian fold through the PLO. We undoubtedly respect the forces that stand against the Israeli aggression against the Arab nation, and cannot agree to them being described as terrorists."

[Falestinona, the website of Fatah's Information and Culture Commission
in Lebanon, May 31, 2017]

The article appeared in the May 2017 edition of the magazine of Fatah's Information and Culture Commission in Lebanon, Al-Quds, and was posted on the commission's website Falestinona on May 31, 2017.

Karim Younes - an Israeli Arab serving a 40-year sentence for kidnapping and murdering Israeli soldier Avraham Bromberg in 1980 together with his cousin Maher Younes. Younes was originally sentenced to life in prison, but Israeli President Shimon Peres reduced his sentence in 2012. In May 2017 Younes was appointed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to the Fatah Central Committee.